Cork Serves Up Ireland's Biggest Celebration of Local Food
Cork on a Fork Fest returned to the city from 12–16 August, filling the streets with more than 150 food experiences built around local and artisan producers, including meet-the-producer sessions, pop-ups in historic buildings and a long-table street feast. Now a firm fixture of the Irish summer calendar, it's a proper showcase of just how much appetite there is for provenance and small-scale food making.
Source: irishexaminer.com
Garlic Takes Over the Isle of Wight for the Weekend
The Isle of Wight Garlic Festival returned to Newchurch on 15–16 August, with garlic ice cream, fudge and much more besides, alongside cookery demonstrations, live music and stalls from independent producers. It's one of the country's best-loved single-ingredient food festivals, and a reminder of how much a simple crop can carry.
Source: countypress.co.uk
Nigella Steps Into the Bake Off Tent as Filming Wraps
Channel 4 confirmed on 16 August that filming has wrapped on the new series of The Great British Bake Off, with Nigella Lawson taking her seat alongside Paul Hollywood for the first time, replacing Prue Leith after her nine-series run. It's a big shift for one of Britain's best-loved food shows, and one that's already got fans talking ahead of its September return.
Source: channel4.com
A Rare Bit of Good News for Britain's Independent Brewers
New figures from the Society of Independent Brewers (SIBA) show the UK's brewery closure rate has slowed sharply, with a net loss of just 16 breweries in the first half of 2026 compared with 137 across the whole of 2025. It's a cautious silver lining for small independent brewers, though SIBA is clear the underlying pressures on costs, tax and pub access haven't gone away.
Source: siba.co.uk